Mars Polar Lander to arrive on smooth, layered terrain

A strip of gentle, rolling plains near the Martian South Pole will serve as a welcome mat when NASA’s Mars Polar Lander touches down on the Red Planet on Dec. 3. NASA unveiled the landing site, a swath of terrain measuring about 1,500 square miles (4,000 square kilometers), at a briefing Wednesday at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC.